Urotensin-II (U-II) is a cysteine-linked cyclic peptide, which exerts potent effects on the cardiovascular, renal, pancreatic, and central nervous systems. Originally, this substance was isolated from the urophysis (a caudal neurosecretory organ) of the goby fish (Gillichthys mirabilis) as a 12-mer, AGTAD-cyclo(CFWKYC)-V (D. Pearson. J. E. Shively, B. R. Clark, I. I. Geschwind, M. Barkley, R. S, Nishioka, H. A. Bern, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1980, 77, 5021-5024), but it has now been identified in all classes of vertebrates. The composition of U-II ranges from 11 amino acids in humans to 14 amino acids in mice, always with a conserved cysteine-linked macrocycle, CFWKYC. Recently, the U-II receptor was identified (R. S. Ames, H. M. Sarau, J. K. Chambers, R. N. Willette, N. V. Aiyar, A. M. Romanic, C. S. Louden, J. J. Foley, C. F. Sauermelch, R. W. Coatney, Z. Ao, J. Disa, S. D. Holmes, J. M. Stadel, J. D. Martin, W.-S. Liu, G. I. Glover, S. Wilson, D. E. McNulty, C. E. Ellis, N. A. Elshourbagy, U. Shabon, J. J. Trill, D. W. P. Hay, E. H. Ohlstein, D. J. Bergsma, S. A. Douglas, Nature (London) 1999, 401, 282-286) as a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) previously known as the GPR14 orphan receptor, (M. Tal, D. A. Ammar, M. Karpuj, V. Krizhanovsky, M. Naim, D. A. Thompson, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1995, 209, 752-759; and A. Marchese, M. Heiber, T. Nguyen, H. H. Q. Heng, V. R. Saldivia, R. Cheng, P. M. Murphy, L.-C. Tsui, X. Shi, P. Gregor, S. R. George, B. F. O'Dowd, J. M. Docherty, Genomics 1995, 29, 335-344) which is expressed predominantly in cardiovascular tissues.
Goby U-II possesses powerful vasoconstrictor activity in fish, mammals, and humans (J. M. Conlon, K. Yano, D. Waugh, N. Hazon, J. Exp. Zool. 1996, 275, 226-238; F. Böhm, J. Pernow, Br. J. Pharmacol. 2002, 135, 25-27). Moreover, it appears to be the most potent vasoconstrictor known, (S. A. Douglas, E. H. Ohlstein, Trends Cardiovasc. Med. 2000, 10, 229-237), causing concentration-dependent contraction of isolated arterial rings of rats and humans with an EC50 value of less than 1 nM, which is ca. ten times more potent than endothelin-1. Recently, Kikkawa, H. and Kushida, H. in International Publication WO 2005/072226 disclosed the use of Urotensin-II antagonists for the prevention and/or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases including, but not limited to, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory colitis caused by bacteria, ischemia, radiation, drugs, or chemical substances.
Relative to the role of U-II in chronic vascular disease, this peptide was reported to induce hypertrophy in cardiomyocytes (Y. Zou, R. Nagai, T. Yamazaki, FEBS Letters 2001, 508, 57-60) and the proliferation of smooth muscle cells (T. Watanabe, R. Pakala, T. Katagiri, C. R. Benedict, Circulation 2001, 104, 16-18), which suggests an involvement in heart failure and atherosclerosis. In addition, U-II has been shown to increase peripheral vascular tone, a characteristic of chronic heart failure (M. Lim, S. Honisett, C. D. Sparkes, P. Komesaroff, A. Kompa, H. Krum, Circulation 2004, 109, 1212-1214). Recent results have shown increased U-II receptor levels observed in the atherosclerotic lesions of the human aorta (N. Bousette, L. Patel, S. A. Douglas, E. H. Ohlstein, A. Giaid, Atherosclerosis 2004, 176, 117-123).
Relative to healthy individuals, the expression of U-II-like immunoreactivity was 2-fold higher in the plasma of patients with renal dysfunction who were not on dialysis, and 3-fold higher in those on haemodialysis (K. Totsune, K. Takahashi, Z. Arihara, M. Sone, F. Satoh, S. Ito, Y. Kimura, H. Sasano, O. Murakami, Lancet 2001, 358, 810-811). Recently, Kinoshita, M. and Kushida, H. in International Publication WO 2005/034873 disclosed the use of Urotensin-II antagonists for reducing nephrotoxicity and diarrhea caused by anti-neoplastic agents.
U-II has been described as a potential mediator in diabetes. For instance, U-II was shown to inhibit the release of insulin in the perfused rat pancreas in response to increasing glucose levels (R. A. Silvestre, J. Rodríguez-Gallardo, E. M. Egido, J. Marco, Horm. Metab. Res. 2001, 33, 379-381). Elevated U-II levels were seen in patients with diabetes mellitus (K. Totsune, K. Takahashi, Z. Arihara, M. Sone, S. Ito, O. Murakami, Clin. Sci. 2003, 104, 1-5) even without renal failure.
A U-II antagonist may be useful for the treatment of pain, neurological and psychiatric conditions, migraine, neuromuscular deficit, and cardiovascular disorders. ICV (intracerebroventricular) administration of U-II increases rearing, grooming, and motor activity suggesting a CNS stimulatory activity (J. Gartlon, F. Parker, D. C. Harrison, S. A. Douglas, T. E. Ashmeade, G. J. Riley, Z. A. Hughes, S. G. Taylor, R. P. Munton, J. J. Hagan, J. A. Hunter, D. N. C. Jones, Psychopharmacology 2001, 155, 426-433). U-II increases Fos expression in the cingulate cortex and periaqueductal grey brain regions important in cognitive, emotional, and motor responses; the perceptions of pain; and panic responses (J. E. Gartlon, T. Ashmeade, M. Duxon, J. J. Hagan, D. N. C. Jones, Eur. J. of Pharmacol. 2004, 493, 95-98). U-II induces anxiogenic-like responses in rodents in the elevated plus maze and hole-board tests (Y. Matsumoto, M. Abe, T. Watanabe, Y. Adachi, T. Yano, H. Takahashi, T. Sugo, M. Mori, C. Kitada, T. Kurokawa, M. Fujino, Neuroscience Letters 2004, 358, 99-102).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,464 and Application Publications US2004/0259873 and US2005/0203090 (corresponding to Man, H-W. and Muller, G. W. International Publication WO/2004080422) disclose N-alkyl-hydroxamic acid-isoindolyl compounds for treatment or prevention of various diseases and disorders mediated by PDE4 inhibition, associated with abnormal TNA-alpha levels, and/or mediated by MMP inhibition.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,052 and Application Publications US2004/0259873 and US2005/0203090 (corresponding to Man, H-W., Muller, G. W., and Zhang, W. International Publication WO2004/080423) disclose 7-amido-isoindolyl compounds for the treatment, prevention or management of various diseases and disorders, including but not limited to cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and myelodysplastic syndrome.
Kawasaki, H., Shinagawa, Y., and Mimura, T. in International Publication WO98/52919 disclose phthalamide derivatives and an antiallergic agent containing the same, having selective IgE and IL-5 production inhibitory activities.
United States Patent Application Publication US2004/0267051 (corresponding to International Publication WO2003/014061) describes a method for the production of amines by reductive amination of carbonyl compounds under transfer-hydrogenation conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,884,887 (corresponding to PCT Publication WO2001/005741) describes a method for producing amines by homogeneously catalyzed reductive amination of carbonyl compounds.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide compounds that are urotensin-II antagonists useful for treating urotensin-II mediated disorders. It is another object of the invention to provide a process for preparing compounds, compositions, intermediates and derivatives thereof. It is a further object of the invention to provide methods for treating urotensin-II mediated disorders including, but not limited to, vascular hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis, renal failure, nephrotoxicity and diarrhea caused by anti-neoplastic agents, post-myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension/fibrosis, diabetes, and CNS indications including pain, Alzheimer's, convulsions, depression, migraine, psychosis, anxiety, neuromuscular deficit, and stroke.